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Pic® Basic

Proton-Smart - Smart Card Development

Over the last decade, the use of smart cards has increased dramatically, to the extent that few industries have not seen their introduction at some level.

Why Use Smart Cards?

Why smart cards? They resemble the familiar credit card in appearance, but they can do a whole lot more than the simple magnetic strip cards. Smart cards contain integrated circuits that give them the ability to retain and process data. As a result, they have several benefits over the familiar magnetic strip card:

Smart Cards

don’t lose their data during normal use

are able to store significantly more data than a magnetic strip card.

are able to accomodate data for more than one application

are able to be extremely secure, or not, as the application demands.

Application

Currently the most common use for the smart card is for authentication, whether GSM, PayTV, credit/debit cards, loyalty cards, however they are also popular in areas such as, event logging cards, building security access cards, and identification cards, telephone calling cards and vending machine purchase cards.

Smart cards make excellent security devices. Where magnetic strip cards used to be deployed smart cards are now becoming the norm, being more user friendly and exhibiting a higher degree of security whilst being particularly difficult to copy and at the same time possessing the capability of retaining a larger amount of information, the Smart card is the natural choice for security conscious applications.

Security is not the only asset of the smart card, memory is also a big factor in its wide spread adoption. Where data needs collecting, storing or transporting Smart cards make the ideal medium, being user friendly, robust and reliable.

As technology moves forward Smart cards adopt and exploit the available technology, Smart cards are now autonomously processing data. They are able to receive and execute a program from the machine with which they are communicating. These cards are able to interpret the program downloaded to them and perform the appropriate processing, without machine or user intervention.

Introducing Proton-Smart

Proton-SMART provides a comprehensive introduction to using the embedded micro-controller in a smart card environment, starting with memory, leading to protected memory, then in module two and three, specialist secure memory through to GSM and SCOS. Proton-SMART will become an invaluable building block and essential tool in your venture into this evolving technology.

The Proton Smart has an onboard 16F876 processor with pre programmed internal boot loader , true RS232 I/O and opto-isolated swiching I/O. The Development board can be used without modification in alarm or access control systems, or as a remote card interface with I/O via RS232. The Development board has facilities for rectification and regulation of supply voltage, allowing it to be operated form AC or dirty DC supplies, from 6-12V AC and 9-16V DC

Development System Contents

CD-ROM

Fully commented source code

Circuit diagrams for the development system

Data Sheets

Development Board

1 X 14c02 smart cards

1 X 24c16

1 X 24c 256

1 X SLE4442

UK standard AC adaptor

Product Photography

Top View 01

Top View 02

Documentation

As is usual with our Proton Development systems, comprehensive documentation supplied, The Proton Smart documentation contains of 50+ pages covering the following: